


Casual Observers: College Girls

by Browneyesparker



Series: Casual Observers [3]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Casual Observers, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Romance, college girls, girl meets world - Freeform, joshaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 17:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4574175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was something Jasmine wasn't going to miss for the whole entire world. She wanted to be around when Josh finally learned more and stopped acting like an idiot. And as corny and a cliché as it sounded, she wanted to be around when Maya finally grew up and she wasn't the little girl that Josh used to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casual Observers: College Girls

**Author's Note:**

> I have seen the fandom drama and I have chosen to ignore it and continue shipping Josh & Maya and kind of, sort of Riley & Lucas. I will not post anti-Lucaya stories, but I might send Lucas back to where he came from because I do not want Maya and Riley’s friendship to be wrecked because of a boy. 
> 
> Anyways. Onto the story!

** **

 

 

 

**.**

**Chapter 3**

_Older College Girls_

When Josh Matthews had left to bring Maya and Riley home, something dawned on Jasmine.  

Josh had _never_ denied liking Maya! Sure, he had brought up their age difference more than once and he had even challenged her not knowing him well enough to actually like him. But not once had he said that he didn't like her back.  

And if he had said it, he would have been lying. All the signs pointed to a fully reciprocated crush, from the way his posture had changed as soon as she had stumbled into the dorm room to the way he had been looking at her the whole time, like she was a Disney princess and annoyance because she was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be and because his niece was being assaulted by overeager sorority sisters. She wanted to know what they looked like together when they weren't in situations they weren't supposed to be in. What it looked like when it was just the two of them in a more comfortable element.  

She slipped Maya her number before she left.

This was something she wasn't going to miss for the whole entire world. She wanted to be around when Josh finally learned more and stopped acting like an idiot. And as corny and a cliché as it sounded, she wanted to be around when Maya finally grew up and she wasn't the little girl that Josh used to see.

**.**

 

After that, Jasmine would get the occasional call from Maya. The younger girl would shyly fill her in on what was going on with Josh. They were becoming better friends than ever. He hadn't brought up the age thing once since the night at NYU.  

Both Jasmine and Maya took it as a good sign even though they wouldn't ever say it aloud.

Theirs was a quiet hope.

Jasmine didn't know Maya terribly well but she got the distinct impression that she didn't really dare get her hopes up because chances were it would be shattered into a million pieces. That was fine. Jasmine had enough hope for the both of them.

**.**

She saw them together from a distance. Maya was chatting with him animatedly, her hands gesturing as they walked along in the crisp fall afternoon. Josh was watching her intently as they strolled along, listening to every word she said like she was a candidate for president.

Even from the sidewalk across the street, Jasmine could see that he _still_ looked at her like she was a Disney princess or something. Except as time had passed by, it had intensified.  

Jasmine wondered if Josh even noticed other girls now or if he was biding his time, waiting for the day Maya was finally old enough for them to be together. She wanted to cross the street and tap him on the shoulder and ask.

But she didn't.  

She couldn't bring herself to interrupt this moment between them. So, she just watched them and kept hoping.

**.**

One late night, when cramming for a test was just _too much,_ her and her friends went to Topanga's to get something sweet to eat. Jasmine stopped short when she saw Josh and Maya sitting at a corner table together.  

It was like they were locked in a staring contest except Jasmine knew nobody would break first and blink. They were too caught up in each other to do _that._ She was glad, the last thing she wanted them to do was actually _notice_ her looking at them and think she was a total psycho stalker.  

Josh finally broke the stare and picked up his fork, shaking his head. "You know, you could have _all_ my dessert and more Maya. We didn't have to do that stupid staring contest just so you could have a bite of my cake!"  

Jasmine finally turned away when he put his fork in Maya's mouth. There were some things too intimate to be witnessed and their sharing dessert was one of those things. She would let them have _this_ moment all to themselves.

 

**.**

 

She talked Andrew into going to the Van Gogh exhibit with her because if anybody would get it _he_ would. They were walking around looking at the different paintings that hadn’t been famous until the artist had died when they both noticed Josh and Maya looking at the _Starry Night_.

“Did you know they were going to be here?” Jasmine asked.

“Hey, I didn’t even know they were even _friends_!” Andrew replied. “Maybe they’re keeping it a secret. You know, like Romeo and Juliet?”

Jasmine smacked him playfully. “Ewww! _Don’t_ even mention Romeo and Juliet! Do you know how their story ended!?”

“Well, maybe they’re keeping it a secret like whatever couple kept their love a secret and then lived happily ever after when everybody found out,” Andrew said. “Come on, let’s go say hi!”

Jasmine shook her head. “I’ve seen them together several times and I never say ‘ _hi’_! I just like to keep the moment between them.”

“Oh geez! Well, I’m going to say hello anyways!” Andrew told her. “You can come with me if you want to.”

“Andrew! Andrew wait!” Jasmine called, hurrying to catch up with him.

“Cory told me that every time he sees this painting, he’s reminded how God is protecting the people in the little town! That they live their lives and they come out of their houses, and they see this sky and they know God's protection and love. And that everything will be all right,” Josh was explaining to Maya while she stared at him with pure unadulterated devotion in her blue eyes, locked in another staring contest with him.

Andrew broke the spell by clearing his throat and greeting them, “Hello Josh, Maya!” he said. “Fancy running into the two of you!”

“Oh, hey Andrew! Jasmine!” Josh replied, smiling at the two of them.

Jasmine waved and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are the two of you enjoying the exhibit?”

Maya nodded, the smile on her face told Jasmine more than words could.

“We are!” Josh answered. “What about you guys?”

“Well, neither of us is as good as explaining the paintings as _you_ are but we’re enjoying ourselves,” Andrew replied. “Aren’t we Jazz?”

“Oh, definitely!” Jasmine answered. “Actually, we’re sorry for interrupting you. Andrew saw you and he couldn’t resist coming over to say hello.”

“We don’t mind, right Maya?” Josh asked, looking at her like he was double-checking to see if it was okay.

“Nope, we don’t mind at all!” Maya said.

Jasmine knew that she was telling the truth. She was no threat to the younger girl because she had Josh all to herself and at the end of the day, he would be walking her home and maybe stopping to share an ice cream sundae at the old-fashioned soda shop that still played Frank Sinatra songs over the speakers. Maybe they would even hold hands under the table, something stolen to hold them over until the day they could actually be together.

She smiled, a not so secret smile to herself as she took Andrew’s hand and started to drag him away. “Well, we just wanted to say hello. We’ll let you two get back to your _date_!”

“Oh no!” Maya said.

“It isn’t a date!” Josh tried to tell her as they walked away.

But both Jasmine and Andrew pretended that they had gotten too far away from them to hear what they had said.

**.**

Of all the moments she had accidentally caught them in, this one was her favorite. The two of them dancing to a song from a season finale of _the Vampire Diaries_ in the hallway of a NYU dorm at midnight. It was just the two of them under flickering fluorescent lights; it was like they were born to dance together. They fit like two puzzle pieces; it looked like something they did together often.

Jasmine rested her laundry basket on her hip and just watched them for the duration of three minutes and thirty seconds while Josh whirled her and twirled her. Maya’s formal dress clashed with his plaid pajamas but it was still the prettiest picture that Jasmine had seen all week.

The song slowed and Josh did too. Maya looked up at him expectantly and Jasmine held her breath, wondering what would happen next.

“Sorry for interrupting your evening,” Maya whispered.

“I always have time for you, Maya,” Josh assured her. “I’m just sorry your first dance turned out that way. It should have been special, it shouldn’t have ended with you showing up at my dorm at midnight, soaking wet and all alone. . . and crying. You especially shouldn’t be crying tonight.”

“I’m fine,” Maya said.

“You keep saying that,” Josh answered, wiping away a smudge of mascara from under her eye. “You don’t have to be brave though, it’s just you and me. I can see you.”

Maya sniffed a little bit. “It shouldn’t matter because I didn’t want to go with him. I would rather spend my night with you than any other guy. But it _does_ matter a little bit because it turns out that he wanted to be with somebody else and not _me_. What’s wrong with me, Josh?”

_“Nothing!”_ Josh said, pulling her into his arms and giving her a fierce hug. “There’s _nothing_ wrong with you Maya! You’re perfect, that guy was a _jerk_! He lost out. He couldn’t see how amazing you really are.”

Jasmine decided she wasn’t going to walk down the hallway then, she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt them. So, she turned around and asked Andrew if she could fold her laundry in his room instead.

When he heard why, he was more than happy to oblige her.

 

**.**

The last time Jasmine saw them together was right after the holidays. It had been a couple of years since she had graduated from NYU and it had been a while since the last time she had seen them. But she hadn’t forgotten about them, not at all. Andrew was still friends with Josh and he kept her updated on what was going on between them and sometimes she would still receive a text from Maya.

But it wasn’t the same as seeing them with her own eyes.

The last time she saw them together was when she was trying to escape a rainstorm that was going to turn into a blizzard later that night. She had ducked into a diner to get warm and there they were, sitting so close to each other in a booth and holding hands, cups of coffee growing cold in front of them.

A lot had changed since the night she had caught them dancing in the dorm hallway. It looked like they had finally made the leap from friends to something more. She was just sorry that she had missed it.

It was something she had been looking forward to since she had met them.

Yes, she knew she was being silly to think she would have witnessed their first kiss, the whisper of a confession of words both of them had always felt but had never been able to say aloud because she was too young for him and he was too old for her.

It was their moment and their moment alone.

But she wished she could have been there for their big announcement, for the celebration that would have followed their news. She couldn’t have been the only one who noticed had noticed the thing between them or how it had rapidly grown into something that neither of them were able to control.

She stole another glance at them while she waited for her coffee order to be filled and smiled. No, she hadn’t gotten to see the penultimate part of their story but she had gotten to be a part of it, all the same. 

Jasmine would never forget the love she had gotten to catch a glimpse of for as long as she lived. She wrapped her hands around the white mug that her waitress had placed in front of her, perfectly content.

**.**

 

18 months later, Jasmine’s cell phone beeped. She grabbed it, typed her password in and pulled up her text messages. There were three words from Maya in green and black followed by a picture.

She smiled and hurried out to the living room, colliding with her husband in the hallway.

“Josh and Maya are getting married!” Jasmine and Andrew announced at the same time, laughing and hugging each other, celebrating their friends’ news.

“What a perfect happily ever after for Maya!” Jasmine said.

“What a perfect happily ever after for Josh!” Andrew answered. “He had to wait for her to grow up before he could do anything about his feelings for her!”

“Maya had to wait to,” Jasmine reminded him gently.

“What a perfect happily ever for the both of them then!” Andrew said eager to appease his wife.

“It is,” Jasmine agreed, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. “It really is.”

 

**_The End_**

 

**.**

**Author's Note:**

> Like you didn’t see me ending with Andrew and Jasmine together from a mile away! Actually, it wasn’t something I decided on until Tuesday night. When I thought about it, it just made sense. But this is not about Andrew and Jasmine. This is about Josh and Maya from Jasmine’s POV. I hope you will tell me what you thought. I enjoyed writing about her witnessing these moments from a distance. I found myself wishing Jasmine would become a regular guest star, as a Joshaya cheerleader. 
> 
> Anyways. I’ll quit boring you with my ramblings. I hope you will tell me what you thought! I am looking forward to hearing from you!
> 
> Until Next Time!


End file.
